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A Letter to ZoS: Please Improve Your Communication
Tornaad
✭✭✭✭✭
✭
✭
Dear Communications team and other decision makers,
In light of the recent wave of complaints people have been making about several issues, I wanted to take a moment and see if I can provide you with some hopefully helpful insights.
I personally do not think the idea of the respect scrolls in the crown store is predatory. [snip] I understand the idea of complex systems and how that likely is making the process of fixing PVP more difficult. I even understand the motivation behind the massive monetization of the game and how it is a delicate balancing act between keeping the cost of the game low and combatting the effects of inflation and how the game industry has been combatting that for more than 20 years. I am likely in a minority on that understanding though. Most people are not going to understand any of it. Most people will just look at the mounting series of problems and start complaining which will get their friends complaining and make any problem bigger.
I also understand the need to keep some things secret or confidential, that is just how business needs to work. However, there is a point where you need to put that need aside and have an honest and frank conversation with someone about something your business instincts will tell you to keep secret. I think we are at that point now. People know what the problem is. Many might even know why there is a problem.
@ZOS_GinaBruno on the recent Twitch Stream made a brief announcement that they are aware of the problems with PVP on the Xbox server and then asked the community to make sure that got out. She even went on to explain that there will be a delay in getting it fixed because the developers have to do a complete rebuild and that it cannot be hot fixed, and that the people who need to certify the patch have gone on break for the holidays. That was good, but it needs to be more official. You need to be better at letting people know that you are aware of the problems and care about them. To just throw out a brief mention a few times here and there on different live streams that you are aware of the problem will not be enough to satisfy the players. You need to do more. My recommendation is threefold.
First when an issue like what is going on with the Xbox PVP right now happens, put a brief in game message telling the players that you are aware of it and that you are working on it right now. From there, do just that. I am confident that you already are, but if you don't tell them, they will think you have forgotten them. Then, you should recommend they come to the official forums to read more info about what is happening.
That is the second part, have a special thread where either a well-informed person or a developer directly will post in, and have an honest and frank discussion with the community where you keep them updated on the progress. That will go miles to restore confidence in what I am confident you are already doing.
Lastly, give the player base something that says you are sorry for the problems. It doesn't have to be a lot, it just needs to be something. And if you have properly communicated with them during the problem, then by the time you are done, instead of the public/players looking down on you, the problem could be shaped into a source of pride for the player base because they will see just how much you care. Every game has problems. Every company has problems. The thing that makes a company excel is how they handle them and how they show they care when those problems happen.
The communication we are currently getting is bad, and it is only fueling rumors. Yes, there is a time to keep things internal, but when the problems start getting out to the community, you have to give them something, otherwise they will find someone who shows them they care better than you are.
I started to play this game because I put more than a thousand hours onto a single Skyrim character and needed something new to fill my Elder Scrolls fix. So, despite loving the idea of hating MMO's I decided to play, thinking that I would just play it until Elder Scrolls 6 came out. Now, I have fallen in love with it. I have almost exclusively played Elder Scrolls games for more than a decade (likely closer to two), and I really have no desire to see that change. I have just seen too many cases of bad communication causing irreparable damage to companies and brands. and with that in mind I love the Elder Scrolls world too much to keep silent on this issue.
Please take the needed steps to become better at communicating to your player base. If you do it right, then they will love you for it and become even more loyal to you because of how you handle the problems that will inevitably continue to come.
Warm Regards
Joseph (aka Zuboko)
[edited for bashing]
Edited by ZOS_Icy on December 18, 2021 11:10AM In light of the recent wave of complaints people have been making about several issues, I wanted to take a moment and see if I can provide you with some hopefully helpful insights.
I personally do not think the idea of the respect scrolls in the crown store is predatory. [snip] I understand the idea of complex systems and how that likely is making the process of fixing PVP more difficult. I even understand the motivation behind the massive monetization of the game and how it is a delicate balancing act between keeping the cost of the game low and combatting the effects of inflation and how the game industry has been combatting that for more than 20 years. I am likely in a minority on that understanding though. Most people are not going to understand any of it. Most people will just look at the mounting series of problems and start complaining which will get their friends complaining and make any problem bigger.
I also understand the need to keep some things secret or confidential, that is just how business needs to work. However, there is a point where you need to put that need aside and have an honest and frank conversation with someone about something your business instincts will tell you to keep secret. I think we are at that point now. People know what the problem is. Many might even know why there is a problem.
@ZOS_GinaBruno on the recent Twitch Stream made a brief announcement that they are aware of the problems with PVP on the Xbox server and then asked the community to make sure that got out. She even went on to explain that there will be a delay in getting it fixed because the developers have to do a complete rebuild and that it cannot be hot fixed, and that the people who need to certify the patch have gone on break for the holidays. That was good, but it needs to be more official. You need to be better at letting people know that you are aware of the problems and care about them. To just throw out a brief mention a few times here and there on different live streams that you are aware of the problem will not be enough to satisfy the players. You need to do more. My recommendation is threefold.
First when an issue like what is going on with the Xbox PVP right now happens, put a brief in game message telling the players that you are aware of it and that you are working on it right now. From there, do just that. I am confident that you already are, but if you don't tell them, they will think you have forgotten them. Then, you should recommend they come to the official forums to read more info about what is happening.
That is the second part, have a special thread where either a well-informed person or a developer directly will post in, and have an honest and frank discussion with the community where you keep them updated on the progress. That will go miles to restore confidence in what I am confident you are already doing.
Lastly, give the player base something that says you are sorry for the problems. It doesn't have to be a lot, it just needs to be something. And if you have properly communicated with them during the problem, then by the time you are done, instead of the public/players looking down on you, the problem could be shaped into a source of pride for the player base because they will see just how much you care. Every game has problems. Every company has problems. The thing that makes a company excel is how they handle them and how they show they care when those problems happen.
The communication we are currently getting is bad, and it is only fueling rumors. Yes, there is a time to keep things internal, but when the problems start getting out to the community, you have to give them something, otherwise they will find someone who shows them they care better than you are.
I started to play this game because I put more than a thousand hours onto a single Skyrim character and needed something new to fill my Elder Scrolls fix. So, despite loving the idea of hating MMO's I decided to play, thinking that I would just play it until Elder Scrolls 6 came out. Now, I have fallen in love with it. I have almost exclusively played Elder Scrolls games for more than a decade (likely closer to two), and I really have no desire to see that change. I have just seen too many cases of bad communication causing irreparable damage to companies and brands. and with that in mind I love the Elder Scrolls world too much to keep silent on this issue.
Please take the needed steps to become better at communicating to your player base. If you do it right, then they will love you for it and become even more loyal to you because of how you handle the problems that will inevitably continue to come.
Warm Regards
Joseph (aka Zuboko)
[edited for bashing]
36
-
Kwoung✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Dear Communications team and other decision makers,
In light of the recent wave of complaints people have been making about several issues, I wanted to take a moment and see if I can provide you with some hopefully helpful insights.
I personally do not think the idea of the respect scrolls in the crown store is predatory. [snip] I understand the idea of complex systems and how that likely is making the process of fixing PVP more difficult. I even understand the motivation behind the massive monetization of the game and how it is a delicate balancing act between keeping the cost of the game low and combatting the effects of inflation and how the game industry has been combatting that for more than 20 years. I am likely in a minority on that understanding though. Most people are not going to understand any of it. Most people will just look at the mounting series of problems and start complaining which will get their friends complaining and make any problem bigger.
I also understand the need to keep some things secret or confidential, that is just how business needs to work. However, there is a point where you need to put that need aside and have an honest and frank conversation with someone about something your business instincts will tell you to keep secret. I think we are at that point now. People know what the problem is. Many might even know why there is a problem.
@ZOS_GinaBruno on the recent Twitch Stream made a brief announcement that they are aware of the problems with PVP on the Xbox server and then asked the community to make sure that got out. She even went on to explain that there will be a delay in getting it fixed because the developers have to do a complete rebuild and that it cannot be hot fixed, and that the people who need to certify the patch have gone on break for the holidays. That was good, but it needs to be more official. You need to be better at letting people know that you are aware of the problems and care about them. To just throw out a brief mention a few times here and there on different live streams that you are aware of the problem will not be enough to satisfy the players. You need to do more. My recommendation is threefold.
First when an issue like what is going on with the Xbox PVP right now happens, put a brief in game message telling the players that you are aware of it and that you are working on it right now. From there, do just that. I am confident that you already are, but if you don't tell them, they will think you have forgotten them. Then, you should recommend they come to the official forums to read more info about what is happening.
That is the second part, have a special thread where either a well-informed person or a developer directly will post in, and have an honest and frank discussion with the community where you keep them updated on the progress. That will go miles to restore confidence in what I am confident you are already doing.
Lastly, give the player base something that says you are sorry for the problems. It doesn't have to be a lot, it just needs to be something. And if you have properly communicated with them during the problem, then by the time you are done, instead of the public/players looking down on you, the problem could be shaped into a source of pride for the player base because they will see just how much you care. Every game has problems. Every company has problems. The thing that makes a company excel is how they handle them and how they show they care when those problems happen.
The communication we are currently getting is bad, and it is only fueling rumors. Yes, there is a time to keep things internal, but when the problems start getting out to the community, you have to give them something, otherwise they will find someone who shows them they care better than you are.
I started to play this game because I put more than a thousand hours onto a single Skyrim character and needed something new to fill my Elder Scrolls fix. So, despite loving the idea of hating MMO's I decided to play, thinking that I would just play it until Elder Scrolls 6 came out. Now, I have fallen in love with it. I have almost exclusively played Elder Scrolls games for more than a decade (likely closer to two), and I really have no desire to see that change. I have just seen too many cases of bad communication causing irreparable damage to companies and brands. and with that in mind I love the Elder Scrolls world too much to keep silent on this issue.
Please take the needed steps to become better at communicating to your player base. If you do it right, then they will love you for it and become even more loyal to you because of how you handle the problems that will inevitably continue to come.
Warm Regards
Joseph (aka Zuboko)
Whats going on with xbox? I only play on PC but we have been dealing with lag, skill delays, desyncs, and disconnects among many other issues for years and years now. Whatever your issue is, I seriously doubt some people coming back from vaca will fix it... We have been listening to promises for years and it only gets worst with every new "fix".
[edited to remove quote]Edited by ZOS_Icy on December 18, 2021 11:11AM7 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭Dear Communications team and other decision makers,
In light of the recent wave of complaints people have been making about several issues, I wanted to take a moment and see if I can provide you with some hopefully helpful insights.
I personally do not think the idea of the respect scrolls in the crown store is predatory. [snip] I understand the idea of complex systems and how that likely is making the process of fixing PVP more difficult. I even understand the motivation behind the massive monetization of the game and how it is a delicate balancing act between keeping the cost of the game low and combatting the effects of inflation and how the game industry has been combatting that for more than 20 years. I am likely in a minority on that understanding though. Most people are not going to understand any of it. Most people will just look at the mounting series of problems and start complaining which will get their friends complaining and make any problem bigger.
I also understand the need to keep some things secret or confidential, that is just how business needs to work. However, there is a point where you need to put that need aside and have an honest and frank conversation with someone about something your business instincts will tell you to keep secret. I think we are at that point now. People know what the problem is. Many might even know why there is a problem.
@ZOS_GinaBruno on the recent Twitch Stream made a brief announcement that they are aware of the problems with PVP on the Xbox server and then asked the community to make sure that got out. She even went on to explain that there will be a delay in getting it fixed because the developers have to do a complete rebuild and that it cannot be hot fixed, and that the people who need to certify the patch have gone on break for the holidays. That was good, but it needs to be more official. You need to be better at letting people know that you are aware of the problems and care about them. To just throw out a brief mention a few times here and there on different live streams that you are aware of the problem will not be enough to satisfy the players. You need to do more. My recommendation is threefold.
First when an issue like what is going on with the Xbox PVP right now happens, put a brief in game message telling the players that you are aware of it and that you are working on it right now. From there, do just that. I am confident that you already are, but if you don't tell them, they will think you have forgotten them. Then, you should recommend they come to the official forums to read more info about what is happening.
That is the second part, have a special thread where either a well-informed person or a developer directly will post in, and have an honest and frank discussion with the community where you keep them updated on the progress. That will go miles to restore confidence in what I am confident you are already doing.
Lastly, give the player base something that says you are sorry for the problems. It doesn't have to be a lot, it just needs to be something. And if you have properly communicated with them during the problem, then by the time you are done, instead of the public/players looking down on you, the problem could be shaped into a source of pride for the player base because they will see just how much you care. Every game has problems. Every company has problems. The thing that makes a company excel is how they handle them and how they show they care when those problems happen.
The communication we are currently getting is bad, and it is only fueling rumors. Yes, there is a time to keep things internal, but when the problems start getting out to the community, you have to give them something, otherwise they will find someone who shows them they care better than you are.
I started to play this game because I put more than a thousand hours onto a single Skyrim character and needed something new to fill my Elder Scrolls fix. So, despite loving the idea of hating MMO's I decided to play, thinking that I would just play it until Elder Scrolls 6 came out. Now, I have fallen in love with it. I have almost exclusively played Elder Scrolls games for more than a decade (likely closer to two), and I really have no desire to see that change. I have just seen too many cases of bad communication causing irreparable damage to companies and brands. and with that in mind I love the Elder Scrolls world too much to keep silent on this issue.
Please take the needed steps to become better at communicating to your player base. If you do it right, then they will love you for it and become even more loyal to you because of how you handle the problems that will inevitably continue to come.
Warm Regards
Joseph (aka Zuboko)
Whats going on with xbox? I only play on PC but we have been dealing with lag, skill delays, desyncs, and disconnects among many other issues for years and years now. Whatever your issue is, I seriously doubt some people coming back from vaca will fix it... We have been listening to promises for years and it only gets worst with every new "fix".
Apparently, something is causing massive numbers of players to crash when they use siege equipment. I have heard little bits about it before now, but this video really got me thinking that I needed to speak up. I too am on PC and barely touch PVP so it does not affect me directly. I just love the game and don't want to see it fester when I can try to speak up and make a difference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slg-RcvXZP0
[edited to remove quote]Edited by ZOS_Icy on December 18, 2021 11:12AM3 -
FluffWit✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Yes, better communication would be nice. Actually telling us when events will be happening in advance. Communicating things like that the game won't be fixed through proper channels- i.e elderscrolls.com/news instead of telling us during a cooking stream. Etc. Etc.
But the real problem for console players this year is the appalling lack of quality control displayed when releasing updates. That's what needs to be sorted.
I don't really care how I find out they broke the game or how I find out how many weeks it's going to take to fix it. These things simply should not be happening in the first place. In 6 years I've seen all sorts of problems come and go but 2021 has been the worst.
And hey. I love the game too, pvp is out of the question for the next month but I'll find something else to do. It'll just cut my play time from 4-5 hours a day to 1-2.13 -
Hotdog_23✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Nice post.
Just don't expect too much or you will not be disappointed. They will never put an in-game massage something is wrong in the game because they would have to admit very publicly, and I don't think they want that from a PR perspective.
They focus more on PC side when it comes to acknowledging and fixing broken things in the game.
Don’t get me wrong they care about consoles at some level and are working hard at making it better with the addition of the Armory and ability systems. But at the same time there is a disconnect with the developer such as when Rich was questioned about taking advantage of players and the respect scrolls and he showed how easy it was to just search for them in the help menu. What he neglected to know is on consoles there is no search function. Heck he still doesn’t even use the ability timers they introduced but still uses and add-on. Despite repeated attempts ask by the players to make the system better it stands as inferior to add-on that he himself uses. Again, the disconnect.
Another example of the disconnect in this thread about NPC comments show up in the chat box. They acknowledge it but year and half later still nothing but hey at least PC can filter subtitles out. Just lip service.
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/515933/is-there-a-way-to-remove-the-npc-subtitles-from-the-chat-box#latest
Yet again at acknowledged they read our concerns but a month later still happening and no word from ZOS about it. Again, lip service
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/591578/anyone-else-having-login-troubles-on-ps-lately/p1
Stay safe and Happy Holidays
edit spellingEdited by Hotdog_23 on December 18, 2021 9:16AM4 -
xHotguy6pack✭✭✭Basically if somebody uses seige anybody is the area will crash to the Xbox dashboard. I had it happen 3 times back to back all within 1-2 minutes. It's 100% unplayable.
Edited by xHotguy6pack on December 18, 2021 11:05AM0 -
etchedpixels✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes, better communication would be nice. Actually telling us when events will be happening in advance. Communicating things like that the game won't be fixed through proper channels- i.e elderscrolls.com/news instead of telling us during a cooking stream. Etc. Etc.
One of the big problems is lack of visibility of known bugs / pending fixes / haven't realised yet. Well managed systems have a proper easy way to find to see these clearly. It shouldn't take tagging one of the moderators to know if they've realised sneak speed is broken, or some of the other threads like some of the current festival bugs where people where tagging year old "it's still broken" threads. A response ought to be something like "Thank you, this is now bug #xyz" with a link, and from then on anyone can click on it and see the status - even if it's "Cannot currently fix, larger rework required"
Too many toons not enough time2 -
Dolphinsgal✭✭✭Yes, better communication would be nice. Actually telling us when events will be happening in advance. Communicating things like that the game won't be fixed through proper channels- i.e elderscrolls.com/news instead of telling us during a cooking stream. Etc. Etc.
But the real problem for console players this year is the appalling lack of quality control displayed when releasing updates. That's what needs to be sorted.
I don't really care how I find out they broke the game or how I find out how many weeks it's going to take to fix it. These things simply should not be happening in the first place. In 6 years I've seen all sorts of problems come and go but 2021 has been the worst.
And hey. I love the game too, pvp is out of the question for the next month but I'll find something else to do. It'll just cut my play time from 4-5 hours a day to 1-2.
With quality control on console a lot of that I think would happen if we had a console pts server, but it's unlikely to happen.1 -
codriinasSoul ShrivenI feel like this sort of honest bug communication is what the dev tracker is meant for, but as someone has been anxiously refreshing the dev tracker multiple times a day for nearly two weeks to see if there's updates.... it seems very underused.
I know I would be a lot less upset about waiting for my bug fixes if I felt like I wasn't yelling into a total uncaring void. 2 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭Nice post.
Just don't expect too much or you will not be disappointed. They will never put an in-game massage something is wrong in the game because they would have to admit very publicly, and I don't think they want that from a PR perspective.
They focus more on PC side when it comes to acknowledging and fixing broken things in the game.
Don’t get me wrong they care about consoles at some level and are working hard at making it better with the addition of the Armory and ability systems. But at the same time there is a disconnect with the developer such as when Rich was questioned about taking advantage of players and the respect scrolls and he showed how easy it was to just search for them in the help menu. What he neglected to know is on consoles there is no search function. Heck he still doesn’t even use the ability timers they introduced but still uses and add-on. Despite repeated attempts ask by the players to make the system better it stands as inferior to add-on that he himself uses. Again, the disconnect.
Another example of the disconnect in this thread about NPC comments show up in the chat box. They acknowledge it but year and half later still nothing but hey at least PC can filter subtitles out. Just lip service.
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/515933/is-there-a-way-to-remove-the-npc-subtitles-from-the-chat-box#latest
Yet again at acknowledged they read our concerns but a month later still happening and no word from ZOS about it. Again, lip service
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/591578/anyone-else-having-login-troubles-on-ps-lately/p1
Stay safe and Happy Holidays
edit spelling
I believe that unless I am willing to try to do something about it, then I do not have a right to complain about something. In this case, the only thing I could do was to post this.1 -
Fennwitty✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.PC NA14 -
Elsonso✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I believe that unless I am willing to try to do something about it, then I do not have a right to complain about something. In this case, the only thing I could do was to post this.
Well, people have been suggesting to ZOS that they improve communication for almost 8 years, now. It is not as if ZOS is unaware. I can't tell you the number of times I have heard them say they need to improve communication.
They hired ZOS_Kevin as Forum Manager, which was a new spin on the subject. The first two attempts were not exactly successful, so maybe the third time is the charm. Still, it is going to take an army of Kevins to post "Thank you for reporting" and "Still no fix" comments, as this is a ceaseless job.
4 -
Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo✭✭✭✭✭
✭There is also a calendar for events, but you have to look for these things.
I've been advocating for forum header updates for a long time or at least a new way to show clickable and important notifications.
1 -
AuraNebula✭✭✭✭✭Yeah I'd like a gift. Give me back all the tel var I lost due to the constant disconnects.3 -
AuraStorm43✭✭✭✭✭I dunno if Rich is the best mouthpiece, he says words that’d get us warned here12
-
HybridFreak✭✭✭Good ideas but I doubt we'll ever see anything like them actually implemented. [snip]
[edited for bashing & discussing moderator actions]Edited by ZOS_Icy on December 19, 2021 7:05PM2 -
joerginger✭✭✭✭✭ZOS keep promising to improve their communication, but the promises are all we ever get. Same thing with performance. Promises for sure, but the actual performance unsurprisingly only gets worse, just like the writing.9
-
katanagirl1✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
Khajiit Stamblade main
Dark Elf Magsorc
Redguard Stamina Dragonknight
Orc Stamplar PVP
Breton Magsorc PVP
Dark Elf Magden
Khajiit Stamblade
Khajiit Stamina Arcanist
PS5 NA5 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭katanagirl1 wrote: »They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
And that happens with pretty much everything, which is something that needs to be changed.1 -
Elsonso✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭katanagirl1 wrote: »They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
And that happens with pretty much everything, which is something that needs to be changed.
I agree. The strange thing is that, because I watch those Twitch streams, I sometimes feel like I know more answers than the forum people (Kevin, Adrikoth, Chiroptera, etc). That makes me very uncomfortable, for... reasons.3 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭katanagirl1 wrote: »They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
And that happens with pretty much everything, which is something that needs to be changed.
I agree. The strange thing is that, because I watch those Twitch streams, I sometimes feel like I know more answers than the forum people (Kevin, Adrikoth, Chiroptera, etc). That makes me very uncomfortable, for... reasons.
Most likely, what is happening is that somewhere in the chain of command and/or business structure, there are two different standards of communication being enforced. The more open line of communication that @ZOS_Kevin and people like that is all too often considered radical and sometimes reclass in business. The reason for this is that it is believed that if you talk about your problems then you are admitting the problems which then makes it worse. And to be fair, if you do this wrong, they are right.
However, that (technically tried and true model) breaks down and becomes a hindrance once things get beyond a certain point. If you have everything running to a Six Sigma level with a Scrum Master at the helm, and problems only come up once in a million opportunities, then sure, the traditional model is a powerful way to go. But once the problems start coming on the level that you see in ESO, you need to find someone who can take a problem, and turn it into an opportunity to build loyalty among your customer base. You still do not want problems, because this will only work for so long and requires that there is something of value in the first place, but if done right, from a business perspective, you can get much farther and have more loyal customers, than you would with any other communication strategy.
The challenge with the method I am suggesting is that it is almost impossible to train someone to do this. From my experience you either know how or find the idea impossible.
For me, when I do this, I need to be talking to people directly. So, if I were at the helm of this kind of content strategy, what I would do is to get a live stream set up where I have a roundhouse conversation with some ESO community streamers and have the conversation that way. From there, afterwards, I would post a link to the roundhouse and a text summary to the conversation in the official forums.Edited by Tornaad on December 20, 2021 3:55PM3 -
Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo✭✭✭✭✭
✭katanagirl1 wrote: »They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
And that happens with pretty much everything, which is something that needs to be changed.
I agree. The strange thing is that, because I watch those Twitch streams, I sometimes feel like I know more answers than the forum people (Kevin, Adrikoth, Chiroptera, etc). That makes me very uncomfortable, for... reasons.
Most likely, what is happening is that somewhere in the chain of command and/or business structure, there are two different standards of communication being enforced. The more open line of communication that @ZOS_Kevin and people like that is all too often considered radical and sometimes reclass in business. The reason for this is that it is believed that if you talk about your problems then you are admitting the problems which then makes it worse. And to be fair, if you do this wrong, they are right.
However, that (technically tried and true model) breaks down and becomes a hindrance once things get beyond a certain point. If you have everything running to a Six Sigma level with a Scrum Master at the helm, and problems only come up once in a million opportunities, then sure, the traditional model is a powerful way to go. But once the problems start coming on the level that you see in ESO, you need to find someone who can take a problem, and turn it into an opportunity to build loyalty among your customer base. You still do not want problems, because this will only work for so long and requires that there is something of value in the first place, but if done right, from a business perspective, you can get much farther and have more loyal customers, than you would with any other communication strategy.
The challenge with the method I am suggesting is that it is almost impossible to train someone to do this. From my experience you either know how or find the idea impossible.
For me, when I do this, I need to be talking to people directly. So, if I were at the helm of this kind of content strategy, what I would do is to get a live stream set up where I have a roundhouse conversation with some ESO community streamers and have the conversation that way. From there, afterwards, I would post a link to the roundhouse and a text summary to the conversation in the official forums.
Are community steamers going to be biased though?
*world plays eso*
I prefer our approach via the forum honestly.1 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭katanagirl1 wrote: »They communicate a ton -- but exclusively by voice on Twitch.
Recording written transcripts would be the easiest way to improve their communication.
It's a million times easier to find text online than attend 100% of the company streaming events.
This. I don’t think I’ve seen any official comment anywhere here on these official ESO forums about a console fix for Cyrodiil. I expect news about ESO to be found here.
And that happens with pretty much everything, which is something that needs to be changed.
I agree. The strange thing is that, because I watch those Twitch streams, I sometimes feel like I know more answers than the forum people (Kevin, Adrikoth, Chiroptera, etc). That makes me very uncomfortable, for... reasons.
Most likely, what is happening is that somewhere in the chain of command and/or business structure, there are two different standards of communication being enforced. The more open line of communication that @ZOS_Kevin and people like that is all too often considered radical and sometimes reclass in business. The reason for this is that it is believed that if you talk about your problems then you are admitting the problems which then makes it worse. And to be fair, if you do this wrong, they are right.
However, that (technically tried and true model) breaks down and becomes a hindrance once things get beyond a certain point. If you have everything running to a Six Sigma level with a Scrum Master at the helm, and problems only come up once in a million opportunities, then sure, the traditional model is a powerful way to go. But once the problems start coming on the level that you see in ESO, you need to find someone who can take a problem, and turn it into an opportunity to build loyalty among your customer base. You still do not want problems, because this will only work for so long and requires that there is something of value in the first place, but if done right, from a business perspective, you can get much farther and have more loyal customers, than you would with any other communication strategy.
The challenge with the method I am suggesting is that it is almost impossible to train someone to do this. From my experience you either know how or find the idea impossible.
For me, when I do this, I need to be talking to people directly. So, if I were at the helm of this kind of content strategy, what I would do is to get a live stream set up where I have a roundhouse conversation with some ESO community streamers and have the conversation that way. From there, afterwards, I would post a link to the roundhouse and a text summary to the conversation in the official forums.
Are community steamers going to be biased though?
*world plays eso*
I prefer our approach via the forum honestly.
It's not ideal. It's not ideal at all. Part of the problem amounts to the simple fact that (at least based on my understanding and skill in this) the best way to implement the strategy I am suggesting involves working directly with those affected. However, in this case, those affected is millions of people, so there is no viable way to work directly with each person. Thus, the strategy has to be adjusted and the best alternative I can think of is to work with community influencers in an official manner. For example, we might let someone like @Deltia know that we would like to have him in a live stream roundtable discussion where he will be given the chance to ask questions and have those questions addressed and then schedule that out far enough in advance that he would have time to talk to his fanbase which gets the word out and gives the community more of a chance to participate and feel like their issue is being addressed individually.
One challenge to implementing this would be to balance the idea of having multiple people participating without creating a situation that would feed off itself and spiral out of control. But that would have to be felt out on an individual basis. For example, if you have a streamer who is incredibly angry, you want to get them involved because they are represent a critical part of the problem you are trying to get fixed and getting their feedback will be critical to the community as a whole feeling that you care, but if you have multiple people involved in the same roundtable discussion, if you are not careful, then that can create a situation which would only make things worse. And that reality is why the strategy I propose is shunned in so many cases. If it goes well, then it is amazing. If it goes wrong, then it makes things worse.
The reason I prefer it, is because in the long run, it is more sustainable for most real-life situations.0 -
Ravensilver✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes, lack of communication from ZOS is one of my biggest peeves when it comes to ESO. I absolutely *hate* feeling as if I'm only good as a cash-cow, but not as a valued customer. It makes me ornery, frustrated and combatative. >.<
It's not like there aren't *good* examples of how good company <-> customer communication can work. Look at Blizzard's famous blue posts in the forums. Or the player council that they are now implementing.
Or even better, the recent feedback and communication coming from Square Enix. Nobuaki Komoto has been in constant communication with the players concerning the current login and other problems. *And* the company also compensated the players for lost gametime!
Unlike ZOS (or at least that's what it feels like), Square Enix certainly seems to be aware of where their money is coming from.4 -
zaria✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Well I say its the wrong community outreach person even if she is cool and act in character.
Still someone more chatty like Raz or Eveli would work better.Edited by zaria on December 20, 2021 10:53PMGrinding just make you go in circles.
Asking ZoS for nerfs is as stupid as asking for close air support from the death star.10 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭I don't know how much of the recent communication efforts we are seeing came from my letter, but I just wanted to say I have noticed the improved communication and think that it is an amazing and major step in the right direction.0 -
katanagirl1✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭I don't know how much of the recent communication efforts we are seeing came from my letter, but I just wanted to say I have noticed the improved communication and think that it is an amazing and major step in the right direction.
There was improved communication right after the announcement, but mere days afterward the silence has returned.
Still many gameplay issues have not been acknowledged. A few have been addressed, which has been greatly appreciated, but still not acknowledged. Oftentimes it still feels like shouting into the void.
Khajiit Stamblade main
Dark Elf Magsorc
Redguard Stamina Dragonknight
Orc Stamplar PVP
Breton Magsorc PVP
Dark Elf Magden
Khajiit Stamblade
Khajiit Stamina Arcanist
PS5 NA4 -
Tornaad✭✭✭✭✭
✭katanagirl1 wrote: »I don't know how much of the recent communication efforts we are seeing came from my letter, but I just wanted to say I have noticed the improved communication and think that it is an amazing and major step in the right direction.
There was improved communication right after the announcement, but mere days afterward the silence has returned.
Still many gameplay issues have not been acknowledged. A few have been addressed, which has been greatly appreciated, but still not acknowledged. Oftentimes it still feels like shouting into the void.
To expect them to instantly address everything is not a realistic expectation. What we need to look for is an ongoing pattern that represents a real change in policy over the long term.0 -
furiouslog✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭you guys might want to check this out if you haven't already:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/595742/a-response-on-communications/p1
TLDR: based on Gina's response, ZOS is quite clearly trying to change what they are doing with communication, but it's a work in progress.4
